Baijiang City, south of the southern suburbs.
An Jianyou stood on a high slope, her eyes flowing with a faint glow as she surveyed her surroundings.
She was currently at Level Two of the 'Open Eyes' ability.
This level was relatively easy to control and could also detect some three-star anomalies.
Last night, she had spent the entire night pondering what kind of anomaly babies to capture.
She had five anomaly slots, but capturing only three-star anomalies was impossible; she wouldn't be able to control them. She estimated she could handle at most two three-star anomalies.
Choosing which one and capturing which one was a question that could drive a perfectionist mad.
Fortunately, their Xin Huo organization had an anomaly compendium that recorded information on many anomalies, including their names, appearances, characteristics, and general abilities.
It was quite detailed.
As expected of Xin Huo.
An Jianyou first ruled out flesh and blood giants. They were too large... While all three-star anomalies were large, flesh and blood giants were exceptionally so, equivalent to a small building. They weren't particularly strong either, and they had left a deep impression on her.
Miss An passed.
After much thought, she selected a few backup options. As for which one to ultimately choose, it would depend on which one she encountered.
Hmm... In the words of her mentor, everything is a choice of fate.
So today, what little black creature would fate arrange for her?
"Instructor, Doctor Yin, I'll leave it to you!"
An Jianyou said.
Within her vision, about a hundred meters away, a faint gray mist churned.
A colossal figure emerged from the mist... riding a ferocious black horse, its body a grayish-white skeleton – the White Bone Knight!
An anomaly that was both offensive and defensive!
It had locked onto An Jianyou and was about to charge.
But An Jianyou and the other two, who were prepared, moved with incredible speed.
An Jianyou's old versions of Little Black, Number One, Two, and Three, under her amplification ability, rapidly grew larger.
The Black Blade unleashed a blade aura over ten meters long, whetting its edge.
Silver Bell took out her calming bell and shook it, 'ding-a-ling-a-ling'.
The White Bone Knight faltered slightly.
It was soon overwhelmed by various attacks, becoming weak and listless.
You guys are cheating!
...
Base, Training Ground Two.
Fang You applied a green-grade cultivation card to his character. The scene replayed, and he couldn't remember how many times he had entered this practice field. From being a mere puppet in the beginning, he now entered with his heart to feel.
This time, he was breaking through from the Proficient to the Expert level. Currently, in the practice space, he was performing expert-level sword techniques.
He was merely being guided through them.
He had to truly learn them himself before he could break through.
Fang You reflected and gradually discovered his flaws. "This thrust of my sword isn't fast enough; my power generation is a little off."
"The transition between moves isn't smooth enough."
"My previous moves were exquisite enough, but they only had speed; they lacked power."
The combination of speed and power could unleash true lethality.
Of course, it also required a sufficiently robust physique to complement it.
At this moment, he was being guided through expert-level sword techniques, each move forced upon him. The muscles in his entire arm felt like they were tearing, and waves of pain assaulted his nerves.
Fang You gritted his teeth.
He couldn't let the pain overwhelm him... The difference between experiencing it consciously and passively was vast!
He had to endure this cheat he'd activated!
After a long time!
After a long time!
When he returned to the training ground, Fang You's arms and legs felt weak. Using a green-grade cultivation card for breakthrough was more intense than using three white-grade cultivation cards simultaneously.
This time, he didn't collapse. Trembling, he stood up, grasped his beginner wooden sword, and began practicing sword forms.
As he practiced, he noticed the difference.
The moment his intention arose, the sword form had already been executed, hitting the target with precise accuracy, not deviating by an inch.
"I don't need to fight with sword forms; practicing basic sword forms is just for strengthening my body and physique."
"But it seems to be more than just improving my physique; it's also about controlling my body!"
Control!
If it were before, when he had the thought to dodge two meters to the left, he might have dodged only one point nine or two point one meters; it wasn't that precise, especially in intense combat.
But now, Fang You moved to the training ground and stood before a facility designed to train agility and dodging skills, practicing quick footwork and sidesteps.
Projectiles shot towards him, grazing past him as he dodged, feeling comfortable and at ease.
"I am still in a state of significant physical enhancement, but the expert-level sword techniques have allowed me to quickly familiarize myself with my current body. My power control, while not perfect, is close."
"With my current abilities, even if I were to learn the Black Blade's close-combat style to deal with three-star anomalies, it would be possible."
Of course, he was just thinking about it.
Even with his improved control, his combat skills and experience were still far inferior to the Black Blade's.
Trying it might actually result in death.
He brought up his status panel.
"Savior of Destiny (Second Awakening)"
"Physique: 11.4 → 11.8 → 12.3"
"Spirit: 6.9"
"Mystery: 26.9"
"Life Energy: 9.55 + 5"
"Equipment: Beginner Wooden Sword, Lantern White Robe, Sealed Treasure Box, Hand of Heavenly Net"
"Skills: Basic Sword Form (Expert: 10.1%), Anomaly Tracking (Proficient: 12.1%), Palm Thunder (Expert: 17.6%), Detection (Skilled: 4.3%), Water of Healing (Skilled Level - Temporary), ... Uninitiated skills omitted."
"Basic Sword Form has directly broken through to 10.1%. It seems I learned well in the cultivation space. As expected of me."
"The increase in physique, including the previous ones, from Proficient to Expert in sword forms, was about 1.2 points."
It wasn't all gained during the breakthrough.
From 0% Proficient to 99.9% Proficient, it increased by about 0.6, and after the breakthrough, it increased by another 0.6.
"I can't improve further in the short term. After An Jianyou finishes catching pets, and if Black Pupil can break through, we can start exploring the mountain forest."
"Mountain forest, wilderness..."
Compared to urban anomalies, there were far too many, ten, even a hundred times more!
Upon opening the detection map, it was filled with dense red markers, including group markers, and these markers were not far apart.
Clearing them all would undoubtedly yield great rewards.
However, it also meant the possibility of being besieged by anomalies.
He glanced again at the anomalies within the city. Baijiang had few, as Yin Ling, Black Blade, and others were constantly going out to eliminate them.
The cities of Beijiang and Lindong were different. They had previously eliminated major anomalies, but there were still quite a few minor ones. Today, there were more than a dozen new ones compared to yesterday.
Fang You thought for a moment, took screenshots from the map interface.
And made some modifications.
Then, using a phone that had the Savior Game installed, but no actual battery or SIM card, he sent a text message to a specific number.
...
Baijiang City, Investigation Bureau.
Director Zhou had returned here two days ago and was now on the phone with Director Huang from Beijiang.
On the other end of the line, Director Huang sighed about the difficulties of their investigation work, his hair already thinning.
Director Huang's hair was indeed quite thin. Before Director Zhou awakened, he too had felt powerless. Now, it was different. He had regained his vigor and was handling affairs in an orderly fashion.
Baijiang, as the safest city, also owed some of its success to him.
"That's not right, Old Huang." Director Zhou frowned. "Didn't we just provide support to Beijiang not long ago? Although our... ahem, contribution wasn't significant, the powerful anomalies in quarantine in Beijiang have already been eliminated. What are you still worried about?"
"Old Zhou, you don't understand," Director Huang sighed. "While major and powerful anomalies are terrifying and require great effort to eliminate, minor anomalies have their own set of challenges."
"Now that the research institute has made breakthroughs, the weapons to deal with anomalies are no longer in short supply, but we are facing a new problem."
"Research shows that anomalies usually breed in remote, dark areas. Powerful anomalies often emerge in very remote regions when they first spawn. However, the weaker the anomaly, the more likely it is to appear in densely populated areas."
"These anomalies are less dangerous than major ones, but a hundred human lives are still lives, and one human life is still a life!"
"Furthermore, another piece of data indicates that once an ordinary anomaly appears, if it's not discovered by investigators within a day, there's a 50% chance of a fatality. If it's two days, that probability will rise to 90%. If it's three days, it's highly likely that two lives will have been lost."
"And during this period, more and more minor anomalies have spawned. Although each incident is just data when it reaches us, alas!"
Director Huang sighed. "Old Zhou, that's why I'm seeking your advice. Does Baijiang have any special investigation methods?"